The Sinitic languages, often called the Chinese languages or (in the singular) the Chinese language

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, are a language family frequently postulated as one of two primary branches of Sino-Tibetan. The Bai language may be Sinitic (classification is difficult); otherwise Sinitic is equivalent to the Chinese languages, and often used in opposition to "Chinese dialects" to convey the idea that these are distinct languages rather than dialects of a single language.

Languages

Assuming Bai is Sinitic, it diverged at approximately the time of Old Chinese

Old Chinese

The earliest known written records of the Chinese language were found at a site near modern Anyang identified as Yin, the last capital of the Shang dynasty, and date from about 1200 BC....

, perhaps before. By the time of Middle Chinese

Middle Chinese

Middle Chinese , also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties...

, the Min (i.e. the Hokkien group) languages had also split off. Languages traceable to Middle Chinese include Mandarin, Wu, Hakka, and Yue (i.e. Cantonese). As more comparative work is done, additional "dialects" are found to be mutually unintelligible with their parent language; the latest to be separated out as languages were Huizhou

Huizhou

Huizhou , historically known as Waichow, is a city located in central Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Part of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shaoguan to the north, Heyuan to the northeast, Shanwei to the east, Shenzhen...

, Jin, Pinghua, and Qiongwen, though the remaining Wu and Yue varieties are not all mutually intelligible, or have very limited intelligibility. Some varieties remain unclassified within Chinese.

• ? Bai (Not all varieties mutually intelligible.)
• Chinese
  • Ba-Shu
    Ba-Shu Chinese
    Ba-Shu Chinese or Old Sichuanese , is an extinct Sinitic language spoken in what is now Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality of China. This language was first attested during the Western Han dynasty and represents one of the first splits from Old Chinese or Early Middle Chinese...
    
     †
  • Min
    • Min Bei
      Min Bei
      The Min-Bei language, or Northern Min is a collection of dialects of Min spoken in Nanping Prefecture of northwestern Fujian which, apart from Shao-Jiang Min, are mutually intelligible....
      
       (Northern Min)
      • Shaojiang
        Shaojiang Min
        Shao–Jiang or Shaojiang Min is a collection of mutually intelligible dialects of Min Chinese centered on eastern Nanping in northwestern Fujian, specifically in the Nanping counties of Guangze, Shaowu, and eastern Shunchang and the northern Sanming county of Jiangle...
        
         (often included in Min Bei)
    • Min Dong
      Min Dong
      The Eastern Min language, or Min Dong is the language mainly spoken in the eastern part of Fujian Province in China, in and near Fuzhou and Ningde. Fuzhou is the province's capital and largest city...
      
       (East Min; incl. Fuzhou
      Fuzhou dialect
      Fuzhou dialect , also known as Foochow dialect, Foochow, Foochowese, Fuzhounese, or Fuzhouhua, is considered the standard dialect of Min Dong, which is a branch of Min Chinese mainly spoken in the eastern part of Fujian Province. Native speakers also call it ' , meaning the language spoken in...
      
      )
    • Min Zhong
      Min Zhong
      The Central Min language, or Min Zhong is a member of the Min subcategory of Chinese languages. It is spoken around Yong'an, Sanming and Sha located in the central mountain areas of Fujian. The total population of approximately 3,500,000 native speakers, is the fourth most common variety of the...
      
       (Central Min)
    • Puxian Min
      Puxian Min
      Pu–Xian or Puxian Min , also known as Xinghua, is a branch of Min Chinese.Puxian is a word combination of two place names of Putian City and Xianyou County ....
      
      
    • Min Nan
      Min Nan
      The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
      
       (Southern Min)
      • Hokkien
        Hokkien
        Hokkien is a Hokkien word corresponding to Standard Chinese "Fujian". It may refer to:* Hokkien dialect, a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken in Southern Fujian , Taiwan, South-east Asia, and elsewhere....
        
         (incl. Amoy and Taiwanese)
      • Teochew (limited intelligibility with Hokkien)
      • Leizhou
      • Hainanese (Qiongwen)
  • Guan
    • Jin is often considered a separate language
    • Mandarin Chinese
      • Dungan
        Dungan language
        The Dungan language is a Sinitic language spoken by the Dungan of Central Asia, an ethnic group related to the Hui people of China.-History:...
        
         is spoken by the Hui Chinese
        Hui people
        The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
        
         ethnicity in Central Asia, and has a distinct literature not renderable in Chinese characters
  • Wu (incl. Shanghainese
    Shanghainese
    Shanghainese , or the Shanghai language , is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai and the surrounding region. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. Shanghainese, like other Wu dialects, is largely not mutually intelligible with other Chinese varieties...
    
    )
    • Wenzhounese (often included in Wu, but not mutually intelligible)
    • Huizhou (sometimes classified as Gan)
  • Gan
    • Hakka
  • Xiang
  • Yue (Cantonese)
    • Cantonese proper
      Standard Cantonese
      Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
      
       (Yuehai)
    • Taishanese is not mutually intelligible with Cantonese proper
    • Pinghua is often considered a separate language

Unclassified Chinese

Excluding those exclusive to ethnic minorities, the principal unclassified varieties of Chinese are:

• Shaozhou Tuhua
  Shaozhou Tuhua
  Shaozhou Tuhua , or simply Tuhua, is an unclassified Chinese language spoken in the border region of the provinces Guangdong, Hunan and Guangxi...
  
  
• Danzhouhua
• Linghua